Fuzhou

This article is about the capital city of Fujian province. For the city in Jiangxi province, see Fuzhou, Jiangxi. For other uses, see Fuzhou (disambiguation).

Fuzhou 福州 Hók-ciŭ
Prefecture-level city
福州市
Fuzhou City View from Mt.Jin ji Fuzhou City View from Mt.Jin ji
Nickname(s):  榕城 (Banyan City), 三山 (Three Hills)
Location of Fuzhou Prefecture within Fujian
Country	China
Province	Fujian
County-level divisions	13
Area
• Total	12,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi)
Population
• Total	6,608,000
• Density	550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Postal code	350000
Area code	591
License plate prefixes	闽A
GDP (2008)	CNY 228.4 billion
- per capita	CNY 33,615
Local dialect	Fuzhou dialect
Website	http://www.fuzhou.gov.cn/

Template:ChineseText (Chinese: ; pinyin: Fúzhōu; Wade–Giles: Fu-chou; Foochow Romanized: Hók-ciŭ; EFEO: Fou-Tcheou; also seen as Foochow, Fuchow, Fuh-chau, Hock Chew or Hokchew in earlier Western documents) is the capital and the largest prefecture-level city of Fujian (福建) province, People's Republic of China. It is also referred to as Rongcheng (榕城; Foochow Romanized: Ṳ̀ng-siàng) which means "city of banyan trees" and Mindong (闽东) (lit. East of Fujian) along with Ningde.

It is the capital of the province, and is situated on the north bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River, which gives access to the interior and to the neighboring provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang.

History

Pre-Han

The exact foundation date of this city is not known however when the Yue Kingdom to the north of Fujian was annexed by the Chu Kingdom in 306 BC, a branch of the royal family of the defeated Yue fled to Fujian and became the Minyue (闽越) tribe.

The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu (无诸), the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. The city was named Ye (冶), meaning "The Beautiful". The name has changed many times, but the city has been continuously occupied since 202 BC and has never suffered major destruction by wars or natural disasters.

The Minyue was annexed by Han in 110 BC.

Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty

"Fuzhou" literally means "Happy Region" or "Blessed Region".

Under the Han, Fuzhou became Ye County.

During the Jin Dynasty, West Lake, East Lake (now silted up) and numerous canals in the city were constructed (282 AD). When the Jin Dynasty collapsed, the first wave of immigrants of the gentile class arrived in Fujian (308 AD).

Hualin Temple in the original Ye city, which has been declared a national heritage site, was built in 964 AD according to documentation, but was carbon-dated to the 4th or 5th century AD. It is probably the oldest existing wooden structure in China.

During the Tang Dynasty (725 AD), the city started to be called Fuzhou.

More immigrants arrived from the north starting from 892 as the Tang Dynasty was collapsing. After the Tang Dynasty fell in 907, the Wang family managed to establish a kingdom called Min (909 – 945) with its capital in Fuzhou, then known as Changle. Min is still used as another name for the province of Fujian, in names of region such as minnan, and the river that runs through Fuzhou is called Min Jiang.

New city walls were built in 282 AD, 901 AD, 905 AD, and 974 AD, so the city had many layers of walls — more than the Chinese capital.

Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty (宋) ordered the destruction of all the walls in Fuzhou in 978 AD but new walls were rebuilt later. The latest was built in 1371 AD.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Fuzhou became more prosperous; many scholars came here to live and work. Among them were Zhu Xi (朱熹), the most celebrated Chinese philosopher after Confucius, and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾), the greatest composer of ci (a specialized form of poem).

Mongolian Yuan Dynasty

Marco Polo, an Italian guest of the Emperor Kubilai, transcribed, after the conventions of Italian orthography, the place name as Fugiu. This was not the local Min pronunciation but that of the Mandarin administrative class.

Ming Dynasty

Between 1405 and 1433 AD, a fleet of the Ming Imperial navy under Admiral Zheng He sailed from Fuzhou to the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed on the east coast of Africa. Before the last sailing, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to the goddess Tian-Fei (Matsu) near the seaport.

Galeote Pereira, a Portuguese soldier and trader, was taken prisoner during the pirate extermination campaign of 1549 and imprisoned here. Later transferred to a sort of internal exile elsewhere in the province, Pereira escaped to Macau in 1553. The record of his experiences in the Ming Empire, logged by the Jesuits at Goa in 1561, was the first non-clerical account of China to reach the West since Polo's.

Qing Dynasty

In the 19th century, Lin Zexu, born in Fuzhou, a high-ranking official of Qing Dynasty, led an attempt to resist the British colonialism at Guangzhou. Unsuccessful and hated by the capitalists, he was internally exiled to the Russian border in Xinjiang. By the 1842 peace treaty which concluded Opium War I, Fuzhou became one of the five Chinese treaty ports, and its door was completely thrown open to Western merchants and missionaries.

Fuzhou was one of the most important Protestant mission fields in China. On January 2, 1846, the first Protestant missionary, Rev. Stephen Johnson from ABCFM, entered this city and soon set up the first missionary station there. ABCFM was followed by Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society that was led by Revs. M. C. White and J. D. Collins, who reached Fuzhou early in September in 1847. Church Missionary Society also arrived in this city in May, 1850. These three Protestant agencies remained in Fuzhou until the communists' takeover of mainland China in the 1950s, leaving a rich heritage in Fuzhou's Protestant culture.

On August 23, 1884, the Battle of Fuzhou broke out between French Far East Fleet and Fujian Fleet of Qing Dynasty. As the result, Fujian Fleet, one of the Four Chinese regional fleet was destroyed completely in the Mawei Harbor.

Early engravings and photos

• 
  City of Fuzhou, ca. 1850. The Black and White Pagodas (乌塔, 白塔) used to be the tallest buildings of this city before its modernization.
• 
  View of southern suburbs of Fuzhou in the late 19th century, from left to right: Black Stone Hill (乌山), Church of American Board (铺前顶救主堂), White Pagoda (白塔), Nine Immortals' Hill (九仙山/于山)
• 
  City of Fuzhou in the late 19th century
• 
  Zhongzhou Island (中洲岛), first Methodist Episcopal Mission premises in China
• 
  Hongshan Bridge (洪山桥), ca. 1850
• 
  Scenery of River Min, west of the southern suburbs of Fuzhou, ca. 1850
• 
  Fuzhou and the River Min in the late 19th century
• 
  View of Fuzhou from the Black-Stone Hill (乌山), in the late 19th century
• 
  St John Church (Fuzhou), 1880
• 
  1800s painting of France and Qing naval battle in Fuzhou

Republic of China Era

On November 8, 1911, revolutionaries staged an uprising in Fuzhou. After an overnight street battle, the Qing (Manchu) army surrendered.

On November 22, 1933, Eugene Chen and the leaders of the National Revolutionary Army's 19th Army set up the short-lived People's Revolutionary Government of Republican China (中華共和國人民革命政府). Blockaded by Generalissimo Jiang and left to twist in the wind by the nearby Soviet Republic of China, the PRGRC collapsed within two months.

From the Republic of China era on, Fuzhou was authorized officially as the capital of Fujian.

In 1946, the administration divisions of Fuzhou was annexted, and administration level was promoted from county-level to city-level officially

Japanese Occupation Era (1940s)

Around 1940, the Japanese army decided to invade Fuzhou. Surrounded by hills on 3 sides, the Japanese army quickly bombed and invaded the city. Japanese planes quickly bombed the only escape route for Chinese civilians - the bridges across the neighbouring river, leaving many civilians dangerously crossing the river on foot. The Japanese army soon controled the city and occupied it until Japan's surrender in 1945.

People's Republic of China Era

On December 13, 1993, a raging fire swept through a textile factory in Fuzhou and claimed the lives of 60 workers.

On October 2, 2005, floodwaters from Typhoon Longwang swept away a military school, killing at least 80 paramilitary officers.

Administrative divisions

The administrative divisions of Fuzhou have been changed frequently in history. From 1983, the Fuzhou current administrative divisions were formed officially, namly, 5 districts and 8 counties respectively. In 1990 and 1994, Fuqing (Hók-chiăng) and Changle (Diòng-lŏ̤h) counties were promoted to county-level cities. Despite these changes, the administrative image of "5 districts and 8 counties" is still held popularly among the local residents.

The city of Fuzhou has direct jurisdiction over 5 districts (区 qu), 2 county-level cities (市 shi), and 6 county (县 xian) :

File:Subdivisions of Fuzhou-China.png	Subdivision
	Fuzhou City Proper				Fuzhou Suburban and Rural
	■ Gulou-qu	鼓楼区	Gū-làu		■ Fuqing-shi	福清市	Hók-chiăng
	■ Taijiang-qu	台江区	Dài-gĕ̤ng		■ Changle-shi	长乐市	Diòng-lŏ̤h
	■ Cangshan-qu	仓山区	Chŏng-săng		■ Minhou-xian	闽清县	Mìng-âu
	■ Mawei-qu	马尾区	Mā-muōi		■ Minqing-xian	闽侯县	Mìng-chiăng
	■ Jin'an-qu	晋安区	Céng-ăng		■ Yongtai-xian	永泰县	Īng-tái
					■ Lianjiang-xian	连江县	Lièng-gŏng
					■ Luoyuan-xian	罗源县	Lò̤-nguòng
					■ Pingtan-xian	平潭县	Bìng-tàng

Geography and climate

Fuzhou is located in the northeast coast of Fujian province, in the opposite of North Taiwan, connects jointly northwards with Ningde and Nanping, southwards with Quanzhou and Putian, westwards with Sanming respectively.

Climate data for Fuzhou
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: China Meteorological Administration

Transportation

File:Fuzhouseal.jpg

The seal of Fuzhou: 3 hills and a river.

Airports

Now Fuzhou owns two airports: Fuzhou Changle International Airport and Fuzhou Yixu Airport (Old airfield). The former is its main international airport and a air-hub in the southeast China, the latter one was turned into a PLA airbase after 1997.

Railways

Currently, the main railway is the "Wai Fu Railway", running eastwards through the North districts to Jiangxi province, owning a subline "Fuma railway", which runs from the city hub to Mawei district. Two more railways have also been under construction, they are "Wen Fu railway", running northwards with Wenzhou south of Zhejiang province; another is "Fuxia railway", running southwards to Xiamen, which is designed as a high-speed railway with speeds up to 200 Km. It will be completed by early July, 2009. There are also plans for 2 metro lines, the first line to be completed by 2014.

• Railway station: The Fuzhou rail station located in the north of Fuzhou, which is near the North Second-round road. The Strait rail station in Cangshan District has been constructing from 2007, which will be completed in 2010,is a key landmark of New city development scheme.

Seaport

In 1867 the Fuzhou seaport was the site of one of China's first major experiments with Western technology, when the Fuzhou Navy Yard was established; a shipyard and an arsenal were built under French guidance and a naval school was opened. A naval academy was also established at the shipyard, and it became a center for the study of European languages and technical sciences. The academy, which offered courses in English, French, engineering, and navigation, produced a generation of Western-trained officers, including the famous scholar-reformer Yan Fu (1854–1921).

The yard was established as part of a program to strengthen China in the wake of the country's disastrous defeat in the trading conflict known as the second Opium War (1856–60). But most talented students continued to pursue a traditional Confucian education, and by the mid-1870s the government began to lose interest in the shipyard; it had trouble securing funds and declined in importance. Fuzhou remained essentially a commercial center and a port until World War II; it had relatively little industry. The port was occupied by the Japanese during 1940–45.

Since 1949, Fuzhou has grown considerably; its communications have been improved by the dredging of the Min River for navigation by medium-sized craft upstream to Nanping. In 1956 the railway linking Fuzhou with the interior of the province and with the main Chinese railway system was opened. The port has also been improved; Fuzhou itself is no longer accessible to seagoing ships, but Luoxingta anchorage and another outer harbor at Guantou on the coast of the East China Sea have been modernized and improved. The chief exports are timber, fruits, paper, and foodstuffs.

Economy

Shopping. Near Dong Jie Kou, Fuzhou

Residential Buildings in Fuzhou

Industry is supplied with power by a grid running from the Gutian hydroelectric scheme in the mountains to the northwest. The city is a center for industrial chemicals and has food-processing, timber-working, engineering, papermaking, printing, and textile industries. A small iron and steel plant was built in 1958. In 1984 Fuzhou was designated one of China's "open" cities in the new open-door policy inviting foreign investments. Handicrafts remain important in the rural areas, and the city is famous for its lacquer and wood products.

Its GDP was ¥33,615 (ca. US$4,840) per capita in 2008, ranked no. 21 among 659 Chinese cities.

Fuzhou is undoubtedly the province’s political, economic and cultural center as well as an industrial center and seaport on the Min river. In 2008, Fuzhou’s GDP amounted to ¥228.4 billion, an increase of 13 percent.

Manufactured products include chemicals, silk and cotton textiles, iron and steel and processed food. Among its exports are fine lacquer ware and handcrafted fans and umbrellas. The city's trade is mainly with Chinese coastal ports. Its exports of timber, food products, and paper move through the harbor at Guantou located about 50 kilometers downstream.

In 2008, exports reached US$13.6 billion, a growth of 10.4 percent while imports amounted to US$6.8 billion. Total retail sales for the same period came at ¥113.4 billion and per capita GDP grew to ¥33,615.

During the same period, Fuzhou approved 155 foreign-invested projects. Contracted foreign investment amounted to US$1.489 billion, while utilized foreign investment increased by 43 percent to US$1.002 billion.

Culture

Banyan King in Fuzhou National Forest Park (福州国家森林公园)

Fuzhou, also known as the "City of Banyan" after the many banyan trees that dot the city landscape, boasts a fair number of historical and cultural sights involved in its particularly enchanting local culture,which displayed considerably in various ways away from mainstream cultures in central China.

Language and art

Besides Mandarin Chinese, local residents of Fuzhou also speak Fuzhou dialect, a language that is considered as the standard form of Min Dong.

Min opera, known as Fuzhou drama, is one of major operas in Fujian Province. It enjoys a good popularity in Fuzhou area, and other neighboring parts in Fujian, namely, northeast and northwest areas where Fuzhou dialect is spoken, as well as in Taiwan and Malay Archipelago. It became a fixed opera in the early 20th Century. There are more than 1000 plays of Min Opera, most of which originates from folk tales, historical novels or ancient legends, including such traditional plays as "Making Seal", "The Purple Jade Hairpin" and "Switching Fairy Peach with Litchi".

Local cuisine

Fuzhou's local dish Litchi Pork, famous for its sweet flavor

As the typical sub-theme of Fujian cuisine considered nationwide as one of the eight Chinese cuisines, Fuzhou cuisine is exemplified associately with the four traditional cooking styles of Fujian province. Fujian cuisine is known to be light but flavourful, soft, and tender, with particular emphasis on umami taste, known in Chinese cooking as "xiānwèi" (traditional Chinese: 鮮味; simplified Chinese: 鲜味), as well as retaining the original flavour of the main ingredients instead of masking them. In Fuzhou cuisine, the taste is light compared to some other Chinese cooking styles, often with a mixed sweet and sour taste. Soup, served remarkably as a indispensable dish in the cuisine/homecooking meal, cooked in various ways with local fresh vegetables and seafoods regarding to seasons.

Special crafts

Bodiless lacquerwares (脱胎漆器), paper umbrellas (纸伞) and horn combs (角梳) are "Three Treasures" of Fuzhou traditional arts. Also, bodiless lacquerwares, cork pictures (软木画) and Shoushan stone sculptures (寿山石雕) are called "Three Superexcellences" of Fuzhou.

Cityscape

historical and cultural sites

• Sanfang Qixiang (三坊七巷) (a cluster of ancient residential buildings dated from late Jin Dynasty)
• West Lake (福州西湖) (an artificial landscape style lake built in 282 AD)
• Hualin Temple (华林寺) (Built in 964 AD,Song dynasty)

Its main hall is known nationwide for the its preservation as the most antiquated wooden architecture in South China，which has been confirmed officially as a important heritage site under state protection in 1982.

• Dizang Temple (The temple of sacrificing guardian of the earth, founded in 527 AD)
• Xichan Temple (西禅寺) (founded in 867 AD)
• Wu Ta (乌塔) (Black Pagoda) (originally built in 799 AD, rebuilt in 936 AD)
• Bai Ta (白塔) (White Pagoda) (originally built in 905 AD, 67 m in height, collapsed in 1534 AD, rebuilt in 1548 AD, 41 m in height)
• Yongquan Temple (涌泉寺) (founded in 915 AD)
• Gu Shan (鼓山) (Drum Mountain)

Recreational sites

• Fujian Provincial Museum (福建省博物馆)
• Wulongjiang Shidi Park (乌龙江湿地公园)(A wet Land Park, however the park is in distress due to ineffective environmental protection and land construction.)
• Senlin Park (森林公园)
• Zuohai park （左海公园）
• Fuzhou National Forest Park (福州国家森林公园)

Photo gallery

• 
  Black Pagoda (乌塔)
• 
  East Gate Church (东门堂)
• 
  Flower Lane Church (花巷堂)
• 
  Confucian Temple (文庙)
• 
  Hualin Temple (华林寺)
• 
  Jinshan Temple (金山寺)
• 
  Mawei Harbor, old battlefield of Battle of Foochow
• 
  Pagoda Anchorage (罗星塔)
• 
  Puqian Church (铺前堂)
• 
  Three Lanes & Seven Alleys (三坊七巷)
• View of the city from Golden Rooster Hill (金鸡山)
  View of the city from Golden Rooster Hill (金鸡山)
• 
  White Pagoda (白塔)
• 
  Yinfeng Temple (隐峰寺) in Luoyuan County
• 
  Zhenhai Tower (镇海楼)

Religions

The two traditional mainstream religions practiced by the majority of Fujian are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism,many people practice both religions at the same time traditionally.

Apart from those mainstream ones, quite a number of religious worship sites of various local religions, are situated in streets and lanes of Fuzhou. The origins of religions can be dated back to centuries ago, through their evolutions in hundred years. The contents of diverse religions like gods and doctrines incorporated elements from other religions and cultures such as totem worship and local legends in China. For example, Monkey King, originated to monkey worship among local ancients, became gradually the embodiment of God of wealth in Fuzhou after the novel The Pilgrimage to the West had been issued in Ming dynasty.

As the most popularized religion in Min river valley, the worship of Lady Linshui (临水夫人) is viewed as one of the three most influenced gods in Fujian, the other two being Mazu (妈祖) and Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝).

Native celebrities

Fuzhou Memorial Hall of Lin Zexu

• Lin Zexu (林则徐, 1785—1850), Chinese scholar and official, considered as a national hero for his strong opposition to the trade of opium before the First Anglo-Chinese War
• Shen Baozhen (沈葆桢, 1820—1879), Viceroy of Liangjiang from 1875 to 1879
• Chen Baochen (陈宝琛, 1848—1935), Chinese scholar and loyalist to Qing Dynasty
• Wong Nai-siong (黄乃裳, 1849—1924), Chinese Christian scholar
• Lin Shu (林纾, 1852—1924), Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for his translation of Alexandre Dumas' La Dame aux Camélias
• Yan Fu (严复, 1854—1921), Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas such as Darwin's revolution
• Sa Zhenbin (萨镇冰, 1859—1952), high-ranking naval officer of Mongolian origin
• Lin Sen (林森, 1868—1943), President of the Republic of China from 1931 to 1943
• Hou Debang (侯德榜, 1890—1974), Chinese chemical engineer
• Zheng Zhenduo (郑振铎, 1898—1958), Chinese journalist and literary scholar
• Bing Xin (冰心, 1900—1999), Chinese female writer
• Watchman Nee (倪柝声, 1903—1972), Chinese Christian author and church leader
• Lin Huiyin (林徽因, 1904—1955), Chinese female architect and writer
• Chen Jingrun (陈景润, 1933—1996), Chinese mathematician who made significant contributions to number theory
• Chen Zhangliang (陈章良, 1962—), Chinese biologist, elected as vice-governor of Guangxi in 2007

Education

Fujian Seminary

Colleges and universities

• Fujian Normal University (福建师范大学) (founded in 1907)
• Fuzhou University (福州大学)
• Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (福建农林大学)
• Fujian Medical University (福建医科大学)
• Fujian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (福建中医学院)
• Minjiang University (闽江学院)
• Fujian University of Technology (福建工程学院)
• Fujian Seminary (福建神学院)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Sister cities

• Nagasaki, Japan
• Naha, Japan
• Gunsan, South Korea
• George, South Africa
• Koszalin, Poland
• Campinas, Brazil
• Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
• Ayer Tawar, Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia
• Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia
• Syracuse, New York, USA
• Tacoma, Washington, USA
• Surabaya, Indonesia (since 2009)

See also

• Fuzhou dialect
• Min Dong language
• List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
• Battle of Fuzhou

External links

• Fuzhou Government website
• An early history of Fujian and Fuzhou
• Template:Wikitravel